Making Money Make Money

Foreword by Hoyt L. Barber

Making Money Make Money, written by Herbert Lee “H. L.” Barber over one hundred years ago in 1912, was inspired by the popularity of his monthly financial periodical, Investing for Profit, which at the time was the largest exclusively financial publication in America. He also wrote The Story of the Automobile: It's History and Development from 1760 to 1917, published in 1917 by A. J. Munson & Company, Chicago, IL.

After eight years of editing Investing for Profit, published by H.L. Barber & Company of Chicago, “H.L.” decided to write this first book, and it too gained worldwide acceptance and fostered his economic and investment advice to readers hungry for knowledge on the subject. The magazine was published from 1905 into the mid-1920’s, and in 1917, H.L. wrote a sequel to this first book entitled similarly to the magazine as Investing for Profits, and an ample audience awaited its arrival.

The fundamental principles of money and the science of investing for profits have changed little over the past century. H. L. conveyed these concepts to his readers in the hopes that even the smallest investor could benefit and make money the same way the rich had been doing it for time untold.

But, what has drastically changed during the aforementioned century is the creative methodology by which the inside interests in business and government have successfully exploited us, the average citizens, while meantime increasing their own personal wealth and establishing a stronghold at our expense. This scenario has increased with swift and growing perversity since H.L.’s days when he attempted to also enlighten the public of the machinations of organized powers, bureaucracy, and a controlled press through his publications.

These same concerns were expressed earlier by Abraham Lincoln, who, on November 21, 1864, stated the following: “I see in the future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. As a result of war, corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its rein until all wealth is concentrated in a few hands and the republic is destroyed.”

The last chapter of this tale is seemingly being written as we speak. Having the perception and foresight to realize where the United States might be headed should it proceed on the same course, Lincoln might be saddened but perhaps not surprised to find our country in its present state. And these beliefs are not just those of a patriotic citizen, but are also those of the then-President of the United States. If only our modern day Presidents could think with such clarity!

The erosion of personal wealth and sovereignty has had an accumulative effect, gradually robbing us of what we cherish most: our guaranteed liberties and freedom, and our ability to prosper financially. The necessity to take action into our own hands as sovereign individuals and citizens does not necessarily dilute our patriotism. Without the ability to act and defend our Constitution and Bill of Rights and make free decisions, the concept of being a “patriot” will be potentially meaningless. How much blood can one citizen give in the form of lost sons and daughters, in countless wasted tax dollars, and in the loss of personal liberties? Next, it may be one’s personal freedom, and this is indeed being requested of you, today, all in the name of “security.”

In the spirit of maintaining individual sovereignty, and regardless of the challenges we face, I have recently written a new and potentially controversial non-fiction book entitled Tax Havens Today: The Benefits and Pitfalls of Banking and Investing Offshore, published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey. I also have completed two international thrillers. The first has recently been released and is entitled From Hell to Havana, published by Durban House Press, Inc., Houston, Texas.

In their own way these new books are intended to enlighten the reader, but more importantly, to assist in the reader’s personal quest—and maybe even entertain. If nothing else, I do hope they shed some light on these themes from a new vantage point.

Making Money Make Money is reprinted here in its entirety as it was first published and released as a hardback book by A. J. Munsen & Company of Chicago, Illinois in 1912. Besides the original work, in this new version you will also find my foreword, some front matter, a reprinted cover of an issue of Investing for Profit magazine, and informative and promotional material in the back of this book. I utilized the typesetting from the original book to give it the feel and texture of the time.

I hope you enjoy reading H.L.’s book as much as I did at age fifteen, when the book was only fifty-eight years old. The concepts are as timeless today after more than ninety years since original publication.

Biography of Herbert Lee (H. L.) Barber

Herbert Lee “H. L.” Barber, publisher, economist, investment banker, and author of Making Money Make Money (1912), Story of the Automobile (1917) and Investing for Profits (1917), all published by A. J. Munson & Co., Chicago, Illinois, was identified as a prominent member of Chicago’s business and cultural circles from 1890 until the early 1930’s.

H. L. was born on a farm in Jackson, Michigan on May 20, 1865. At a young age he became a principal and teacher at schools in Michigan and Indiana, followed by work as a book canvasser. Among the many books he sold successfully was one that two other men who also gained fame had also done well with. These men were United States Senators Beveridge and Carter, and the book was Errors Chains—How Forged and Broken.

H. L.’s success in selling books led him into the publishing field and in 1892 he migrated to Chicago where he started The Dominion Company, a successful publisher of many fine books. Writers whom he employed included Murat Halstead, an editor who at the time was a prominent national figure, and William Harding, who was then cable editor for the Associated Press (AP). Some of the many books he published that enjoyed large sales were War in South Africa, The Life and Distinguished Services of William McKinley, The Life and Achievement of Admiral Dewey, Our New Possessions, The Story of the Philippines, The Story of Cuba, Full Official History of The War With Spain, The World on Fire, The Story of the World’s Worship, and others.

While he continued book publishing he launched and published a monthly household periodical Fact and Fiction magazine from 1900 to 1904.

In 1905, H. L. made the transition from the publishing field to the financial and investment business, and later in Montana, to real estate development. That year, he started H. L. Barber & Company of Chicago, an investment banking and securities brokerage business, and raised capital for new and well-known companies, principally in the Midwest and Western United States. The securities operations of H. L. Barber & Company were regarded by many observers at the time as comparable to those of the best operations in New York City. Companies he promoted included Consolidated Midway Chief Oil Co., Consumer’s Stores Co., Boulder Tungsten Production Co., Ramsey Products Co., Ogden Porcupine Gold Mines, Tungsten Mountain Mines, U.S. Gold Corporation, Cream of Rice Co., Ford Tractor Company, and many others.

During its first year in business, H. L. Barber & Company began publishing Investing for Profit, a monthly magazine edited by H. L. Barber, which came to be known as the “largest exclusively financial publication in America.” Investing for Profit garnered a worldwide readership and was published into the mid-1920’s.

In 1909, H. L. discovered an area of Montana where a major irrigation project had recently been completed, and he recognized the opportunity to turn undeveloped land into rich farm properties. By 1912, H. L. Barber & Company had built the town-site of Williams, Montana in Pondera County, which came to be known as “The Gem of the Project,” and later a second nearby town-site known as Manson. The towns thrived until H. L. died in Williams in 1937, and gradually the towns died too. Eventually, the U.S. Post Office closed their Williams branch in the 1950’s.

In his towns, Barber was known to own most of the businesses and employ nearly everyone who wasn’t an independent farmer. Through his bank, the First State Bank of Williams, he financed the local community and its farmers and residents. H L. was invited to run for Governor of the State of Montana, but he declined the offer.

During a period beginning in 1912 and running into the early 1930’s, H. L. Barber commuted frequently to his Wheaton, Illinois residence on a private railway car that was a part of a famous East-West train called “The Empire Builder” and that he chartered from the Pullman Company. He boarded his private car at the Williams train depot and disembarked in Chicago, thereby effectively maintaining his business interests in both states.

H. L. planned and possibly completed a fourth book entitled The Fortune Builders, but a copy of it has never surfaced.

Barber was a member of the Chicago Athletic Association, the Advertising Association of Chicago, the Michigan Society of Chicago, the Hamilton Club, the Chicago Press Club, the Birchwood Country Club, the Aero Club, the Patriotic Ancient and Honorables, the Western Economic Society, American Economic Association, Sovereign Cross Roundtable, and other organizations.

For years, H. L. Barber was listed in The Book of Chicagoans, published by A. N. Marquis & Company, Chicago, and also in Clark J. Herringshaw’s American Blue-Book of Biography, published by American Blue Book Publishers, Chicago, and in Herringshaw’s City Blue-Book of Current Biography, also published by American Publishers’ Association, Chicago.

How American Fortunes Are Made

H. L. Barber garnered publicity worldwide for his books, magazine, publishing company, securities brokerage firm and his original and otherwise provocative ideas on making money. Below is an example of the press he received in major newspapers in the U.S. and overseas. This piece was in response to his 1916 publication of Making Money Make Money, published by A.J. Munson & Co., Chicago, Illinois, which appeared that year in newspapers throughout the U.S. and her territories, from New York to Hawaii, and beyond.